Improved rowlock



' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRA C. FLAGG AND F. W. FLAGG, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPRovEn RowLooK.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 51,032, dated November 21, 1865.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, IRA C. FLAG-G and F. W. FLAGG, of Middletown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rowlocks 5 and we do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilledin the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this spcciiication, in which- Figure 1 represents, in side view, a rowlock made according to our invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view, in which the rowlock is shown swung out to let the oar trail in the water.

Similar letters o't' reference indicate like parts.

The object of thisiuvention is to strengthen the rowlock and its connection with the gunwale, and also to increase its efficiency; and it consists, rst,in extending the socket-tube of the bed-plate, in which the stem of the U horn 7 works, down into the gunwale, the stem being made longer than usual, so as to extend down to the lower edge oi" the socket; secondly, in setting the stem of the horn on one side, so that its center of motion is outside of said horn, whereby the latter is capable of taking position outside or inside the gunwale, as well as in line with it, thereby producinga side-swivel rowlock 5 and, thirdly, in protecting the joint of the stem from the weather.

A designates the gunwale of aboat.

B is the horn of a rowlock, provided with a mat for the oar to rest upon.

G is a shoulder formed on one side ot' the horn. From the lower side of said shoulder projects a cylindrical stem, E, whose length is such as to extend to or near to the bottom line ofthe socket-tube D, hereinafter mentioned. The length of the shoulder G-that is to say, the distance it extends from the outside ofthe horn-and also its depth, will depend upon the breadth of the gunwale and upon the elevation which the rowlock is to have. Such a length should be given to the shoulder as to allow the horn to swing beyond the gunwale, so that when the oar is released and suffered to trail in the water it will be clear of the sides of the boat.

C is a plate screwed down upon the gunwale, and having in the middle of its length a sockettube, l), which extends below the bottom of the plate into a recess made for it in the guuwale. One effect of this construction is to strengthen the connection between the gunwale andthe plate, and to relieve the strain which comes upon the screws. It also tends to steady the rowlock and prevent the horn from sagging, by reason of the length we are thus euabled to give to the stem. The stem has a groove cut around it to receive a pin that projects from the socket, by means of which `the stem is locked in the socket against any vertical movement. When it is desired to remove the stem from the socket the horn is rotated until the pin articulates with avertical slot (not seen) which intersects the groove.

The eyeF is meant to receivea chain or line, which may be weighted and used to hold the oar 'from floating off when the horn is swiveled around, as shown in Fig. 2.

The joint of the stem E is perfectly protected from the weather by the shoulder G, which covers the socket and its edge on all sides, so that any water which falls on the shoulder is shed therefrom and not allowed to reach the joint. l

Ve are aware that rowlocks have been constructed in which the center of motion of the horn is at one side of the horn. We therefore do not cla-im such construction as our invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim -as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Constructing rowlocks substantially in the manner described, when the stem which is the center of motion is made a part of and placed at one side of the horn and combined with the plate in which the stem revolves, so as to extend below the surface of the gunwale, as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. Extending the socket-tube of the plate in which the stemvot the horn revolves down be low the bottom of the plate and into the gunwale, substantially as and for the purpose above set forth.

The above specification of our invention signed by us this 1st day of August, 1865.

IRA C. FLAGG. F. W. FLAGG.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, Jon-N E. EAELE. 

